Switched from 300w cfl to 140w of dollar store led

grilledcheese101

Well-Known Member
Hey guys i figured id make this post for the cheap guys looking for an alternative lighting source than cfls. I was running 1 125w 6500ks, 3 23w 3000ks, and 2 45w 3000ks. And tested at 12 inches was getting anywhere from 16-25k lumens (very uneven).

I purchased 14 10w 800 lumen bulbs from walmart on sale for .50 cents a piece. Globe brand. Got a good deal on vanity fixtures and merreted them all together. Then i took the opaque reflectors off of each of them and socketed them in place
Instant on was the first benefit i noticed- zero warm up time, full lumens as soon as the light turns on. Second benefit was i grow in a 36x20x70 inch grow area amd swithching to cfls netted me 7°F in heat loss alone. Another benefit was penatration. I can have the plants further away from the fixture yet get more light than before. I plan on updating with progress and growth from my new led grow20171021_185237.jpg
 

grilledcheese101

Well-Known Member
Hopefully ill have an update today after work, lights come on at 4 pm (trying to make the most out of 18/6 by using all 12 off peak hours lol) i have faith in them but im dealing with a cal/mag lockout at the same time so im not sure how worthy these plants will be of proving the lights potential. We will see!
 

grilledcheese101

Well-Known Member
Well here they are :( lol my ph was super low hence why theres no growth but i got everything dialed in today. Runoff is in thrle 6.8 7 range right now which will do till i repot them in promix- i was running half peat half coco and thr peat dropped my ph down to like under 5 or something fucked. Im surprised theyre alive after 2-3 weeks of this. I only just started ph'aing now cause i stopped all summer long growing outdoors with the same nutes and same water with no issues. Whrn i realized my fuck up - to much peat - to acidic. I flooded the plants for about 2 hrs with water then hit em hard with a water molasses mix phd to 8.0 and soaked them for about 2 hours, flushed afterwards and the run off had raised significantly. I assume i ran into no issues with my plants outdoor because my soil mix had less peat and coco and had manure and black earth.
 

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grilledcheese101

Well-Known Member
The pic is of 2 blueberry clones from this summer ( the small seedling in the other pic is a seed a friend found in one of his cuttings he grew out)
 

Cletus clem

Well-Known Member
Well here they are :( lol my ph was super low hence why theres no growth but i got everything dialed in today. Runoff is in thrle 6.8 7 range right now which will do till i repot them in promix- i was running half peat half coco and thr peat dropped my ph down to like under 5 or something fucked. Im surprised theyre alive after 2-3 weeks of this. I only just started ph'aing now cause i stopped all summer long growing outdoors with the same nutes and same water with no issues. Whrn i realized my fuck up - to much peat - to acidic. I flooded the plants for about 2 hrs with water then hit em hard with a water molasses mix phd to 8.0 and soaked them for about 2 hours, flushed afterwards and the run off had raised significantly. I assume i ran into no issues with my plants outdoor because my soil mix had less peat and coco and had manure and black earth.
Nectar for the gods olympus up. Not a better ph up on the market. Seriously. Its literally just liquid limestome. Sticks around in the soil doin its thang and its a good source of calcium for the plant and microbes. Would fix up a problem like this pretty quick. Combine it with herculean harvest, thats the shit right there.
 

Randomblame

Well-Known Member
OMG, look at that tiny mom .. she looks like a bonsai tree next to this monster fan, LOL!
Mirco Mom's give mirco cuts but they catch up everything later.
Had some that I could keep small over 2 years(PC-housing), only by pruning above and below the ground.
Small fabric pots do the latter automatically and are very suitable for bonsai plants.
 

nfhiggs

Well-Known Member
Hey guys i figured id make this post for the cheap guys looking for an alternative lighting source than cfls. I was running 1 125w 6500ks, 3 23w 3000ks, and 2 45w 3000ks. And tested at 12 inches was getting anywhere from 16-25k lumens (very uneven).

I purchased 14 10w 800 lumen bulbs from walmart on sale for .50 cents a piece. Globe brand. Got a good deal on vanity fixtures and merreted them all together. Then i took the opaque reflectors off of each of them and socketed them in place
Instant on was the first benefit i noticed- zero warm up time, full lumens as soon as the light turns on. Second benefit was i grow in a 36x20x70 inch grow area amd swithching to cfls netted me 7°F in heat loss alone. Another benefit was penatration. I can have the plants further away from the fixture yet get more light than before. I plan on updating with progress and growth from my new led growView attachment 4030810
Cool - I like ultra budget DIY stuff.
 

grilledcheese101

Well-Known Member
Flipped her into flower jan 1st. Man it may ust be my water but this dinafem blue cheese is a pig for molasses. Super picky with food too. Everytime id skip a feed and just water shed thro yellow leavesand rust marks within 2 days. Greener than ever and i havent flushed orfed just water in weeks.. now im running just over 200w of led.. i planned to make this fucker as big as possible with the least amount of work.. i honestly didnt expect a plant thisbig tho.. if a had to guess id say mammoth is to blame for that.ive never had structure like this with a little light. It honestly looks like every outdoor ive done.. just barely fits in the closet20180109_233553.jpg 20180109_233506.jpg 20180109_233614.jpg 20180109_233447.jpg 20180110_082835.jpg 20180110_082840.jpg 20180110_082856.jpg 20180110_082923.jpg
 

Cletus clem

Well-Known Member
Thanks dude! Cheers. And ya i thinkthis lady is a 10week strain so probably closer to mid March but ill have to verify asmy memory is failing
There are lots of variables with finishing times. I start scoping around day 56. Keep an eye on it. Scope a couple spots so youre looking at the plant as more of a whole. Also, readiness is ultimately determined by you! As long as trichs are mostly cloudy, youre in the realm. Some people like to see a few amber, some 10%, some even say 50%! I think it was p bud in an interview on the pot cast talks about people growing the 91 chemdog differing in harvest times from 9-12 weeks! She looks like a happy girl, good job!
 
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